Lithuania's Consul in St. Petersburg Vytas Babravičius has met with the crew of the Jūros Vilkas (Sea Wolf) fishing vessel that was detained by Russia. The crew are safe and not in danger, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Lithuanian diplomat met with the crew, which include three citizens of Lithuania, on Tuesday, the foreign minister's spokeswoman Rasa Jakilaitienė confirmed to BNS.

"Consul Babravičius met with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Murmansk and officers of the Russian border service. He also had an opportunity to meet the crew and the three Lithuanian citizens aboard the ship. The consul assured that lives and health of the crew, including the three Lithuanian citizens, were not in danger, they were allowed to contact their families," said Jakilaitienė.

The detained fishing vessel is currently close to the port of Murmansk, in territorial waters of Russia. An investigation is in progress.

Lithuania maintains the ship was detained in international waters, as verified by satellite tracking data. Meanwhile Russia claims the Lithuanian ship was engaged in unlawful fishing in Russia's economic zone.